‘It's not easy spending so much money out of passion’

In an interview two years back with The Business Standard (TBS), Chattogram Challengers owner KM Rifatuzzaman observed that a revamped business model could enable the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchises to have a considerable amount of profit. 

A few days ago, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) stated that they are still preparing a model to share revenue with the franchises, which means the Challengers as well as the rest of the franchises, have barely made any profit over the last few years.

Then what's the point of participating in the tournament? Rifatuzzaman, the Managing Director of Aktar Group, singled out the successful brand marketing as the prime reason behind this. 

According to him, the biggest challenge while building such a squad is signing up overseas players. 

"We have prepared ourselves well mentally," he told TBS.

 "The biggest challenge in this tournament is [managing] the foreign players. A team has 10-15 such players, although only four can play in the game. The schedule coincides with [five] other franchise leagues. So there are availability as well as NOC issues. But we are well-prepared overall."

The BPL 2024 coincides with five different franchise leagues at different times, which could take the colour out of the tournament. It has also contributed to the increased expenses of the franchises, as players tend to choose tournaments where they get paid more. 

Rifatuzzaman said they had to spend a considerable amount to construct the squad for this season.

"The expenses have increased. First of all, at this time of the year, there's a dearth of [available] players. There is no fixed window for the BPL. So a player thinks about where he would get more money. If it's in the ILT20, he will go there. What he's doing is right from his perspective. That's why we needed more money this year. I cannot tell you the exact figure, but a team needs over Tk10 crore to build a squad," he mentioned. 

Chattogram came seventh out of seven teams last season, but the team's owner said they would first try to ensure a spot in the top four and then take it from there.

"We always target a top-four spot first. Over the last few years, barring the last season, we have made the top four every year," Rifatuzzaman said. "So we are targeting a top-four spot; then we can make it into the final if we play well in the playoffs. There is a sense of uncertainty in that phase of the tournament. Many great teams make blunders [in the playoffs]."

There has been a lot of talk about the standard of the tournament. Even Tamim Iqbal had to face a question about it in a recent press conference. People, in general, are not very happy with the quality, but Rifatuzzaman said things are getting better.

"I think it's going well now. There was uncertainty during Covid-19 and everything was being arranged hastily. But now we are taking time and contacting players beforehand. But because of schedule clashes, it becomes increasingly difficult to field quality players throughout the tournament."

The Chattogram owner is quite happy to promote their brand Aktar Group through the tournament, despite making barely any profit out of it. 

"I still feel cricket is a good platform to reach people. You can take your brand to all corners of the country through the game. Involvement with a tournament like BPL can give a brand good mileage. It's not easy spending so much money out of passion. But the image of our brand is quite positive because sports in general are positive things," he said.

The franchise owners are pushing for a revenue-sharing model which is how the BPL can be made a profitable tournament. 

"I still think it can be a profitable tournament. But the rules and regulations need to be changed. Other franchises [outside Bangladesh] make profits. If a similar model can be developed, we can make it a profitable competition," Rifatuzzaman mentioned.

He claimed there has been no profit at all and no other income source other than sponsorships has been established. 

"No, we have not made any profit in any season. There is no chance of making any this year as well."

"Selling merchandise is a big thing in franchise leagues for fan engagement, but unfortunately there has been nothing like this in the BPL," he added.

Rifatuzzaman feels a separate window for the BPL in the calendar is much needed for the tournament to take off. He also said a relationship between the board and the franchise owners is also significant. 

"The time frame is important. If you have big-name players in every team, then the tournament will become attractive. If you want to survive in the market, you have to improve. You look at other franchise leagues and you'll see how much they have improved. It's a developing process and we have to be part of that."

Rifatuzzaman said they would extend their activities to local tournaments like the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), but the inflation right now is preventing it.

"Prices have increased due to the dollar rate increase. Productivity has decreased due to less import. These all are interconnected and so it's now difficult to stay here [in the BPL]. Plans about other things will come later," he concluded.